Frequently Asked Questions

Actually, if I'm honest, the most frequently asked question I get asked is: What's for tea?. However, since I don't think that the world is ready to hear about my crimes against food, I will contain these to not-so frequently asked questions.

Where do you get your ideas from?

www.ideasRus.com, of course. Doesn't everyone go there? Actually, I know a lot of people like to say it's from snippets they see in the newspaper or on the television, but to be honest I think it's a bit more complex than that, because it's not really the idea that makes the story, it's the twist that every individual writer puts on it. For example, as a way of coping with my father's death, I wrote a romantic comedy about a girl getting kicked out of heaven. Another writer might've gone at it from a completely different angle (possibly without the comedy or the getting kicked out of heaven bit!).

Your book has body sharing in it. Who would you like to share a body with and why.

,Well, as my character, Holly Evans found out, sharing a body with a guy certainly has it disadvantages (one word for you: toilet). However, since David Boreanaz is pretty much my stock standard answer for anything like this, I'm going to stick with the great DB. As for why, well if you have to ask that then you haven't seen him with no shirt on, have you?

What's a normal writing day for you?

Now that my youngest son is in nursery, I actually have a semblance of a routine and I try and do as much as I can while he's away. Then later in the day I will do my emails and essential blog reading (I can recommend Pink is the New Blog to everyone!). Then I will try and get some more writing done at night. Thankfully, my husband is a musician so he understands the call of the muse.

What's the most important thing you've learned along the way?

Never wash a red shirt and white trousers together. Oh, right you mean writing wise. I guess for me, the most important thing was to just accept that everything happens for a reason. This can be hard to remember when you get yet another rejection or find out that a best-selling author is just about to release a book with an identical plot to your current manuscript, but it's important to always bear it in mind. And then one day, when the world is right and everything makes perfect sense, then you can look back and laugh at how upset you were over a certain thing. Not saying that I always remember to apply this to myself, but I do my best...

What sort of hero do you like best?

The David Boreanaz sort. Actually the only thing that all my heroes HAVE to have is that they will love the heroine no matter what.  I remember thoroughly enjoying a chick lit book some time ago until the hero suddenly slept with the heroine's step sister the night before her wedding. Well, I'm sorry, but in my little world, that is wrong. Heroes must stay away from all other women. Forever. So there you have it, as long as my hero has undying love for the heroine for the rest of eternity, then I'm happy. I mean that's not too much to ask is it? 

How can I sell a book when I don't have any writing credits or know any 'famous' people.

It's strange how many people think that unless you are best friends with JK Rowling, or live next door to a high powered literary agent, then you won't have a hope in hell of getting published. However, pretty much every published writer I know got their contracts the crazy old fashioned way. They wrote good books. Yes, it's hard to get through the door these days, but it's not impossible. So try not to worry on what you don't have, and just concentrate on what you do have: an idea and a burning desire.

What did you do before you wrote?

Lots of things, though none of which fall into the category that would make my mother happy!

Anyway, let's look at the list. There was the waitressing job where I had to wear Australian colonial costumes (translate to semi see-through yellow and white checked gingham complete with frilly apron AND mock cap). There was the ice cream shop, actually that was okay apart from blue and white stripy uniform complete with knickerbockers. Then there was the one where I picked up litter at a local festival wearing a bright blue tracksuit and a sort of Picasso splattered look t-shirt. Can you see a theme developing here?

After a while I got sick of the costumes and moved onto running my own market stall business (Southbank and Riverside Markets if anyone knows Brisbane) where my husband and I made wrought iron furniture. Possibly not the best way to get rich but I must say we had three brilliant years of it. Then was the selling of mobile telephones. The travel agent stint. The call center one. The telemarketing one. The marketing one where I worked for the Crazy People and I eventually walked out over a huge argument about where the office furniture was going to be moved to (I do believe Crazy Person number one ended up shouting at me: it can go anywhere you want as long as you put it right HERE. Clearly we were never going to see eye to eye on this issue). But perhaps my favorite weird job was when I was hired to help stuff giant vinyl echidna quills for a giant, er, echidna that was meant to be in some Australia Day procession or something. Oh the glamour.

Any advice to writers?

Welcome to Crazyville, and sorry the seats aren't a bit more comfortable. Seriously, when I first started to write, I was so eager to find out how everyone else did it, but in the end realized that the only one who can write my book is me. So perhaps try and look inwards rather than outwards. And really try to avoid getting addicted to reality television because it takes away chunks of writing time!